DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

OVERVIEW
BY:ENGR.JOMAR G. NAVARRO
REGISTERED ELECTRICAL ENGINEER
VICE –PRESIDENT OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS-IIEE ORMOC CHAPTER
 OVERVIEW
• Transmission & Distribution

• Transmission and distribution refers to the different stages of carrying electricity

over poles and wires from generators to a home or a business. The primary
distinction between the two is the voltage level at which electricity moves in each
stage.

• After electricity has been generated, a system of electrical wires carries the
electricity from the source of generation to our homes and businesses. These lines
can be found overhead or sometimes in the ground, and, combined, transmission
and distribution lines make up what is commonly called “the grid.” Transmission and
distribution are two separate stages or systems on the grid.
• Transmission is the “interstate highway” of electricity delivery. It refers
to the part of electricity delivery that moves bulk electricity from the
generation sites over long distances to substations closer to areas of
demand for electricity. Consumers may recognize transmission lines as
the larger, taller poles/towers carrying many wires over longer distances.
Transmission lines move large amounts of power at a high voltage level
– a level that is too much to be delivered directly to a home or business.
Transmission lines, transformers, substations and other equipment
have voltages of 100 kV (100,000 volts) and above.
• Explore the history and value of the transmission system.
• In most cases, the power moving through the transmission system must be reduced to lower
voltage levels by electricity distributors before it can be delivered to a residence or business.
Power, specifically the voltage level, sent through transmission lines is reduced, or ”stepped
down,” via transformers and sent through distribution lines, which are then connected to homes
and businesses.

• If transmission is the interstate highway of the grid, distribution is the city street. It is the last
leg of the delivery of electrical power from generation to the consumer. Power travels on the
distribution system at a voltage level that can be delivered directly to a home or business.
Distribution lines are the lines many people see along streets. Distribution is the power that
turns on and runs the appliances we use every day to keep our food fresh, our clothes clean
and our homes either cool or warm. The voltage of distribution lines – the lines many people
see in their neighborhoods – is approximately 13 kV (13,000 volts); a typical household runs on
110 volts.
 Difference Between Transmission and
Distribution Line

• The Transmission line and Distribution line both are used to carry
power or electricity from one place to the other. The difference
between transmission and distribution line are explained on the basis
of the factors like the basic usage of the transmission and distribution
line, their working supply phase, voltage level and level of conduction.
 The Difference Between Transmission and
Distribution Line is given below in the tabulated
form.
• BASIS TRANSMISSION LINE DISTRIBUTION LINE
• Usage Transmission Line helps in the movement of electricity from power plant to the
substations. The Distribution line carries electricity from the substation to the consumer’s end.
• Phase It is carried out electricity in three phase supply system.It requires a single phase
supply system for carrying electricity.
• Voltage level Carries electricity at a very high voltage. About 11000 volts. Carries electricity
at a very low and safe level of about 220 volts.
• Current conduction level They conduct current at 69 kV or more.

• They conduct less than 69

 Thickness Transmission lines are thick lines. Distribution line are thin as compared to the
transmission line.

Generation of electricity is a major factor, but how this electricity is transmitted

from the power stations to the substations and finally to the consumers is also
important. This process is done by transmission and distribution lines.

Transmission lines are a high voltage line that carries electricity from power
plant to the substation from it is further distributed to various areas for different
purposes. Distribution lines are low voltage lines that carry electricity from the
substations to the end users for residential and commercial use.
• The Difference Between Transmission and Distribution Line
• Transmission Line helps in the movement of electricity from a power plant or
power station to the various substations whereas the distribution line carries
electricity from the substation to the consumer’s end. i.e, to the residential
and commercial customers.
• Transmission line carries power or electricity in three phase supply system.
Distribution system requires a single phase supply system for carrying
electricity.
• Transmission line carries electricity at a very high voltage that is of about
11000 volts whereas Distribution lines carries electricity at a very low and safe
value level that is about 220 volts.
• Transmission line, conducts current at 69 kilo volts or more, but distribution
line conduct current at less than 69 kilo Volt.
• Distribution line are thin as compared to the transmission line.
• Electricity Transmission and Distribution
• Electric power transmission and distribution (T&D) in the United States, the vital link between generating
stations and customers, is in urgent need of expansion and upgrading. Growing loads and aging
equipment are stressing the system and increasing the risk of widespread blackouts. Modern society
depends on reliable and economic delivery of electricity.

• Recent concerns about T&D systems have stemmed from inadequate investment to meet growing
demand, the limited ability of those systems to accommodate renewable-energy sources that generate
electricity intermittently, and vulnerability to major blackouts involving cascading failures. Moreover,
effective and significant utilization of intermittent renewable generation located away from major load
centers cannot be accomplished without significant additions to the transmission system. In addition,
distribution systems often are incompatible with demand-side options that might otherwise be
economical. Modernization of electric T&D systems could alleviate all of these concerns.

• The U.S. T&D system has been called the world’s largest machine and part of the greatest engineering
achievement of the 20th century (NAE, 2003). This massive system delivers power from the nearly 3000
power plants in the United States to virtually every building and facility in the nation.

• This chapter reviews the status of current T&D systems and discusses the potential for modernizing
them (thus creating the “modern grid”). The focus is on the technologies involved—their potential
performance, costs, and impacts—and potential barriers to such a deployment in the United States over
the next several decades.
• BACKGROUND
• The Current Transmission and Distribution System
• T&D involves two distinct but connected systems (as shown in Figure 9.1):
• The high-voltage transmission system (or grid) transmits electric power from
generation plants through 163,000 miles of high-voltage (230 kilovolts [kV] up to
765 kV) electrical conductors and more than 15,000 transmission substations.
The transmission system is configured as a network, meaning that power has
multiple paths to follow from the generator to the distribution substation.1
• The distribution system contains millions of miles of lower-voltage electrical
conductors that receive power from the grid at distribution substations. The power is
then delivered to 131 million customers via the distribution system. In contrast to the
transmission system, the distribution system usually is radial, meaning that there is
only one path from the distribution substation to a given consumer.

• The U.S. T&D system includes a wide variety of organizational structures,

technologies, economic drivers, and forms of regulatory oversight. Federal, state, and
municipal governments and customer-owned cooperatives all own parts of these
systems, but approximately 80 percent of power transactions occur on lines owned
by investor-owned regulated utilities (IOUs). These fully integrated utilities own
generating plants as well as the T&D systems that deliver the power to their
customers. In the past, this was the dominant model, but deregulation in some
states has transformed the industry. In deregulated areas, generation, transmission,
and distribution may be handled by different entities. For example, independent
power producers (IPPs) may sell power to distribution utilities, or even directly to end
users, using the transmission system as a common carrier (as shown in Figure 9.2).
• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has long had the authority to
regulate financial aspects of the transmission of electricity in inter-

•1
• “Distribution substations” connect the high-voltage transmission system to the
lower-voltage distribution system via transformers. The system includes 60,000
distribution substations. “Transmission substations” connect two or more
transmission lines.

• Page 565
• Suggested Citation:"9 Electricity Transmission and Distribution." National
Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and National Research
Council. 2009. America's Energy Future: Technology and Transformation.
Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12091.×
• Add a note to your bookmark
• FIGURE 9.1 The current T&D system comprises two distinct but
connected systems: transmission and distribution.

• Source: Courtesy of NETL Modern Grid Team.

• state commerce. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 expanded FERC’s
mandate, giving it the authority to impose mandatory reliability
standards on the bulk transmission system and to impose penalties on
entities that manipulate electricity markets. As part of its new authority,
FERC has in turn granted the North American Electric Reliability
Corporation (NERC)—a private organization created by the utility
industry in 1968 to advise on reliability—the authority to develop and
enforce reliability standards. The National Institute of Standards and
Technology also is involved in developing standards for the grid.
• In some areas, independent system operators/regional transmission
operators (ISO/RTOs) are responsible for operating the transmission
system reliably, including constantly dispatching power to balance
demand with supply and monitoring the power flows over transmission
lines owned by other public or private entities. The ISO/RTOs, with
oversight by FERC and NERC, monitor their systems’ capac-

• Page 566
• Suggested Citation:"9 Electricity Transmission and Distribution."
National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and
National Research Council. 2009. America's Energy Future: Technology
and Transformation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
doi: 10.17226/12091.×
• Add a note to your bookmark
• FIGURE 9.2 Key players in the T&D system. Power is produced by
regulated investor-owned utilities (IOUs), which own the majority of the
T&D systems, and in some areas by independent power producers (IPPs).
IOUs typically provide electricity to end users through their own
distribution systems, while IPPs sell to a utility or purchase
transmission services to deliver electric power directly to an end user.
There are also utilities that are federally or locally owned, such as
municipal and rural co-ops. Most of these utilities own generating plants
as well as T&D lines.

• Source: Courtesy of NETL Modern Grid Team.

• ities and conduct the wholesale market to clear short-term
transactions.2 There are nine ISO/RTOs in North America, as shown in
Figure 9.3. Seven of the nine come

• Market-clearing transactions match the available supply of electric

power at a clearing price that matches the demand.
FIGURE 9.3 Independent System Operators (ISO) and Regional
Transmission Organizations (RTO) in North America. Regions in which the
power industry has been restructured, such as Texas, the Northeast, the
Upper Midwest, and much of California, are colored. In these areas, ISO/
RTOs are responsible for operating the transmission system. In the white
regions, where the industry has not been restructured, vertically integrated
power utilities continue to operate the transmission system.

Source: North American Electric Reliability Corporation.

• under FERC’s reliability oversight. The remaining two are subject to Canadian
regulations.

• Operationally, the electric transmission systems of the United States and

Canada are divided into four large regions known as “interconnections,” as
shown in Figure 9.4:

• The Eastern Interconnection, which includes most of the United States and
Canada from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic coast;
• FIGURE 9.4 North American power interconnections. The Quebec
Interconnection is shown as part of the Eastern Interconnection because
operations are coordinated.

• Source: North American Electric Reliability Corporation.

• The Western Interconnection, which extends from the Pacific coast to the
Rockies;

• The ERCOT Interconnection, which encompasses most of Texas;

• The Quebec Interconnection, which is shown in Figure 9.4 as part of the

Eastern Interconnection because they are operated jointly.
• Within each interconnection, all generators operate in synchronism with each other. That
is, the 60-Hertz alternating current (AC) is exactly in phase across the entire
interconnection. While all interconnections operate at 60 Hz, no attempt is made to
synchronize them with each other. Electricity is transmitted between interconnections,
but that is done by converting to direct current (DC) and then back to AC.

• Suggested Citation:"9 Electricity Transmission and Distribution." National Academy of

Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and National Research Council. 2009.
America's Energy Future: Technology and Transformation. Washington, DC: The National
Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12091.×
• Add a note to your bookmark
• Controlling the dynamic behavior of this interconnected transmission system presents
an engineering and operational challenge. Demand for electricity is constantly changing
as millions of consumers turn on and off appliances and industrial equipment. The
generation of and demand for electricity are balanced regionally by about 140 balancing
authorities to ensure that voltage and frequency are maintained within narrow limits
(typically 5 percent for voltage and 0.02 Hz for frequency). If more power is drawn from
the grid than is being pumped into it, the frequency and voltage will decrease, and vice
versa. If the voltage or frequency strays too far from its prescribed level, the resulting
stresses can lead to system collapse and possibly damage to power system equipment.
• Problems with the Current System
• Most U.S. transmission lines and substations were constructed more than 40
years ago and are based on 1950s’ technology, but demands on the electric
power system have increased significantly over the years. Since 1990, electricity
generation has risen from about 3 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) to about 4 trillion
in 2007. Long-distance transmission has grown even faster for reliability and
economic reasons, including new competitive wholesale markets for electricity,
but few new transmission lines have been built to handle this growth.3

• Figure 9.5 shows transmission investment from 1975 to 2007. From 1985
through 1995, transmission investment was fairly stable at the level of about
$4.5 billion per year. Although this was about $2 billion per year lower than
during the previous decade, reserve margins4 were adequate because of prior
over-building and slow growth in demand. However, in the late 1990s, the
restructuring and re-regulation of the U.S. transmission system led to a decrease
in invest-
•
• The stress on the U.S. transmission system that was brought about by
wholesale electric competition was described by Linn Draper, chairman and CEO
of American Electric Power, during his testimony before the House Energy and
Water Committee shortly after the August 14, 2003, blackout: “In the five-year
period during which wholesale competition first gained momentum, the number
of wholesale transactions in the U.S. went from 25,000 to 2 million—an 80-fold
increase.” Another factor increasing demand for transmission is the difficulty of
building generating facilities near load centers because of pubic opposition.
Ironically, new transmission lines also are the object of considerable public
opposition even while the need for them is increased by opposition to generating
stations.

•4
• Reserve margin is the amount of transmission capacity available above the
maximum power expected to be delivered over the system. Some margin is
necessary to allow for unexpected loads or outages on the system.
• FIGURE 9.5 Transmission investment by integrated and stand-alone transmission companies. The IOU
data cover only 80 percent of the transmission system. All investment is shown in 2007 dollars. Data
were adjusted as necessary using the Handy-Whitman index of Public Utility Construction Costs.

• Sources: 1975–2003 from EEI, 2005; 2000–2007 from Owens, 2008.

• ment. This decrease “was principally due to uncertainty in the rate of return on investment (and
whether it would be modified or disallowed in future years) offered to transmission owners/investors”
(EPRI, 2004). Transmission investment averaged about $3 billion per year from 1995 to 2000.

• The deficit of the late 1990s is still affecting reliability; it has contributed to transmission bottlenecks
and other transmission deficiencies throughout North America, even with the more recent upward
trend in transmission expenditures since 2000. According to NERC, the transmission system is being
operated at or near its physical limits more of the time (Nevius, 2008). Stressed grids have less
reserve margin for handling disturbances. Figure 9.6 shows the increase in transmission loading relief
events. (TLR is a measure of when scheduled transmission requests could not be accommodated.5)

• Inadequate system maintenance and repair also have contributed to an

• Transmission loading relief (TLR) is a sequence of actions taken to avoid or remedy potential reliability
concerns associated with the transmission system. Calls for TLRs involve problems
• FIGURE 9.6 Transmission loading relief (TLR) events. The number of TLR
events is not an outage measure; it is the number of times a congestion limit
is reached. Although this measure has been used to characterize
transmission reliability, congestion limits can be reached purely for market
reasons.

• Source: See www.nerc.com/docs/oc/scs/logs/trends.htm.

• increase in the likelihood of major transmission system failures (EPRI, 2004),

and the number of such disturbances has in fact been increasing in recent
years, as shown in Figure 9.7. Of greatest concern is the risk of these
disturbances cascading over large portions of the T&D systems. The 2003
blackouts in the world’s two largest grids—the North American Eastern
Interconnection and the West European Interconnection—resulted from such
cascading failures (see Box 9.1). Each event affected 50 million people.
• Another result of diminished investment in transmission is that the
manufacturing of associated equipment has largely disappeared from
the United States, along with commercial research and development
(R&D) for transmission equipment (including transformers, switchgear,
and high-voltage DC [HVDC] technology). Today, essentially all large
power-transmission equipment is imported from Europe and Japan.
This could become a potentially

• that require intervention on the transmission system. These may or

may not result in transmission outages or outages to customers.
• FIGURE 9.7 Major transmission system disturbances reported to NERC. Disturbances include electric
service interruptions, unusual occurrences, demand and voltage reductions, public appeals, fuel supply
problems, and acts of sabotage that can affect the reliability of the bulk electric systems.

• Source: Compiled from data in NERC, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003,
2004, 2005, and 2006.

• serious problem, especially with long lead-time components, in case of major natural disaster or terrorist
attack.

• Modernization is progressing much more rapidly abroad. For example, China and India are building 800
kV HVDC and 1000 kV AC transmission lines, along with the underlying high-power infrastructure. About
30 high-power HVDC projects are under construction in Europe, including many submarine cable
connections to increase utilization of offshore wind power. Two-way metering is common in Europe
because it helps to maximize the potential of rooftop photovoltaics, which are being heavily promoted in
Germany and other countries. Although the United States has vast potential for wind and solar
generation, there is no consensus or plan for how this power could be transmitted to load centers.

• While expenditures on the replacement and new construction of American T&D assets have increased
recently (see Figure 9.5), grid assets are aging, and investments are still not keeping pace with the
growing demand for electric power and power marketing. To meet these challenges, transmission

• Page 573
• The Northeast Blackout of August 14, 2003
• A modern T&D system could have helped to avoid the circumstances that initiated the August 2003 Northeast
blackout. Two major issues contributed to this blackout: first, the operators did not know the system was in trouble;
and second, there was poor communication between the utilities operating the transmission lines—First Energy
and American Electric Power—and also between these utilities and the ISO responsible for the area (the Midwest
Independent System Operator). The U.S.-Canada Power System Outage Task Force (2004) noted that four major
factors contributed to the blackout:

• Inadequate system understanding,

• Inadequate situational awareness,
• Inadequate tree trimming,
• Inadequate reactive power control diagnostic support.
• A modern T&D system could have provided better understanding of the state of the system, better
communications, and, ultimately, better controls. Adequate monitoring, communication, and dynamic reactive
power support during the initial voltage sag could have helped to prevent lines from overloading, heating up, and
sagging excessively. Operators would have been better informed, and online real-time dynamic contingency
analysis of potential system collapse would have helped operators stay aware of possible risks and actions to be
taken in response. Finally, automatic actions could have been taken to island (isolate) portions of the system and
prevent the ultimate cascading event (which spread the localized outage across much of the northeast United
States and Canada). The system could also have been restored much more rapidly if a modern grid had been in
place.
• systems must be modernized—a complex but vital undertaking.6
However, orders for modern transmission technologies remain low,
largely because they are perceived to be risky and uneconomic,7 as
discussed in more detail later in this chapter. Thus if business continues
as usual, investment will focus on new construction to meet peak load
growth, which is projected to increase

• Modernization is defined here as the deployment of a suite of

technologies (described in the coming sections) that will enable the T&D
systems to meet a variety of challenges, particularly the seven
characteristics (adapted from NETL, 2007d) discussed in more detail in
the section titled “A Modern Electric T&D System.”

• This view was presented repeatedly to the committee by industry

representatives, including those representing Southern California Edison
Co., Areva, ABB, and Siemens.
• by 0.7 percent per year to 20308 according to the reference case of the DOE
Energy Information Administration (EIA, 2008) and the replacement of aging
components with equivalent technology.

• Distribution systems are in better condition. Reliability, for example, has

increased steadily over the last 7 years—in part because these systems have
to be enlarged to handle new consumers. Public utility commissions usually
provide revenue incentives based on indexes, shown in Annex 9.A, that
directly measure customer service reliability. Consequently, the distribution
companies have improved or at least held steady their customer outage
statistics.9

• Growth provides the opportunity for distribution companies to introduce new

and smarter technologies on a limited basis before undertaking a wider
application. For example, a utility can introduce modern, smart technologies
on a substation-by-substation basis as it is determined that portions of the
distribution network need upgrading. The nature of the distribution system
allows upgrades to be done in such “modular” steps.
• Addressing the Problems
• T&D systems will require considerable investment just to maintain current capabilities and reliability, and the use
of new technology could make the grid considerably more resilient. For example, the present system of local
automatic controls overseen by human operators at regionally based control centers is not able to adequately
foresee that disturbances in Cleveland can black out New York, Toronto, and Detroit, or that transmission outages
in Switzerland can black out all of Italy. Modern communications and controls can move much faster to diagnose
problems and bypass or isolate them. The same technology can provide cost benefits by maximizing power flows
and integrating power from renewable energy sources.

• New technology is an important part of the answer to the challenges facing the grid, but policy and regulatory
changes will also be needed, particularly with

•8
• Some lowering of this number may be possible with aggressive electricity end-use efficiency measures.
•9
• The steady reliability of the distribution system does not contradict the increasing congestion and increasing
number of system disturbances on the transmission system. Outages on the transmission system do not
necessarily result in outages on the distribution system, as the transmission system is a network. This means that
if one path is closed, there are alternative paths for power to flow to the consumer.

• Page 575
• respect to the transmission system. Policies regarding T&D systems are varied
and imposed by many entities; there is significant public resistance to siting
new transmission lines; and the business cases for utilities to invest in modern
grid processes and technologies are often incomplete, as societal costs and
benefits are not typically internalized in companies’ decision making. For
example, the cost of not having power when it is needed is far greater to the
user than the lost revenues to the utility that cannot provide it. Recognizing the
value of a reliable, efficient, and flexible grid, and supporting the investments
to make that possible, may require a national-level strategy.

• As discussed below in this chapter, expanding and modernizing distribution

systems will require considerably more investment than for transmission
systems. Much of the expansion will be noncontroversial because it will be
required to meet growing loads and can be done without much impact on
people who do not directly benefit from it. In addition, modernization of
distribution can be achieved on a more limited basis than for transmission,
which will require coordination across many systems. Therefore, the emphasis
in this chapter will be on transmission.
• A MODERN ELECTRIC T&D SYSTEM
• A modern T&D system should have capabilities beyond the reach of current
systems through their incorporation of new technologies (hardware and software).
They must also be expanded to meet future needs. New technologies such as
power electronics, real-time thermal rating of transmission lines, and composite
conductors can allow an increase in power flow on the existing T&D system, but
new lines also will be needed.

• Modern T&D systems are intended to provide effective operation, asset

optimization, and systems planning capabilities under routine conditions and
emergency response and fast restoration after a system failure. The
characteristics required to achieve these performance standards are as follows:10

• 10
• Adapted from characteristics defined by the National Energy Technology
Laboratory (NETL, 2007c,d) and discussed in more detail in the annex.

• Page 576
• Accommodates all generation and storage options. A modern transmission infrastructure would
include emerging technologies such as large-scale variable power sources and advanced energy
storage devices. For example, it could smooth the variability of power from remotely located
intermittent renewable resources11 and maintain reactive power12 on the system. The
distribution system should be able to accommodate increasing amounts of distributed
generation—often variable (such as rooftop photovoltaic devices)—and smaller-scale advanced
energy storage devices.

• Enables wholesale power markets. A modern T&D system should be enlarged to handle
increased long-distance power flows and equipped with new communications and control
capabilities to manage the vast amount of information required for wholesale power
transactions (NETL, 2007a). In addition, the distribution system should enable the end user to
participate in power markets by allowing self-generation opportunities.

• Is self-healing. A modern T&D system would incorporate methods to automatically stop outages
before they spread, thereby preventing major system collapses.13 If a major system did collapse,
the means would be available to isolate the problem, prevent it from spreading, and restore it
rapidly and effectively. A modern T&D system would be able to monitor the state of the system,
communicate key information to control centers, and take appropriate action automatically.

• Motivates and includes the customer. The modern distribution system would empower
customers to make end-use decisions that increase
• 11
• For variable renewable electricity sources to make up 10–20 percent or more of the total generating capacity of the
interconnection, increased flexibility will be needed in the electric T&D systems.

• 12
• All equipment, lines, and loads have inductances and capacitance that in an AC system take power during half of
each cycle and deliver it back during the other half cycle; hence, they load the lines and equipment but do not deliver
net power. This is called “reactive power.” It is not useful power that is measured by the electric meters in most
homes, but it must be monitored and supplied by the utility as needed. Otherwise, the grid can become seriously
unbalanced.

• 13
• A major system collapse can occur when a system becomes unbalanced—for example, when a major line is lost
and other lines become overloaded as more power flows through them. As these lines are shut down by protective
devices, the disturbance can propagate throughout the system, leaving large areas without power.

• Page 577
• energy efficiency, help in load-leveling,14 and enable residential and small-scale
power generation. It would allow for self-generation and storage as well as for
customers to participate in an interactive mode by responding to price signals.

• Provides high power quality where needed. The modern distribution system would be
capable of supplying higher “power quality”15 where needed for a digital society that
increasingly relies on sensitive microprocessor-based devices in homes, offices,
commercial buildings, and industrial facilities. The highest power quality is not
necessarily cost-effective for all users, so some may still need to provide additional
sources of power, standby generation, or other devices that can ride through minor
electrical disturbances on either the transmission or the distribution system.

• Is secure. The modern T&D infrastructure would be minimally vulnerable to human

error, natural disasters, and physical and cyber attacks. Resilience would be built into
each element, and the overall system would be designed to deter, detect, respond to,
and recover from any plausible disruption. The modern transmission system would
also reduce the consequences of a successful attack through its self-healing and
“islanding”16 capabilities.

• Optimizes assets and operates efficiently. A modern transmission system would

utilize power lines as efficiently as possible, integrating and coordinating assets to
maximize their overall function in an economical way.
• These characteristics cannot be fully achieved by introducing individual modern technologies in isolation. Key
technologies (such as high-speed measurements and communications and automated controls, discussed in the
sections that follow) must be integrated using a systems approach designed to meet performance

• 14
• “Load-leveling” is a process for better matching generation with wide swings in demand during the day by storing
energy when demand is low and using it later to meet peak demand.

• 15
• “Power quality” refers to the voltage, frequency, and harmonic content (frequencies that are integer multiples of the
fundamental 60 Hz frequency) of the electricity supply. All these factors must be kept within tight bounds.

• 16
• When a large system collapses, some areas within its region may have a balance of generation and load. If those
areas are able to disconnect from the collapsing system, they will remain powered—a process known as “islanding.”

• Suggested Citation:"9 Electricity Transmission and Distribution." National Academy of Sciences, National Academy
of Engineering, and National Research Council. 2009. America's Energy Future: Technology and Transformation.
Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12091.×
FIGURE 9.8 Components of a modern T&D system.

Source: Courtesy of NETL Modern Grid Team.

goals and metrics. A set of technologies that could be integrated as part of a modern grid is shown in Figure
9.8 and discussed in the following section.

• KEY TECHNOLOGIES FOR A MODERN ELECTRIC T&D SYSTEM

• Many of the technologies needed for a modern T&D system already exist, and some,
to a limited extent, are already deployed in parts of the T&D systems. However,
many technologies will need to be deployed in a systematic and integrated way to
realize maximum benefits from a modernized T&D system. These technologies can
be roughly divided into three categories: (1) advanced equipment and components;
(2) measurements, communications, and controls; and
• Suggested Citation:"9 Electricity Transmission and Distribution." National Academy
of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and National Research Council. 2009.
America's Energy Future: Technology and Transformation. Washington, DC: The
National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12091.×
• (3) improved decision-support tools. The major technologies within each
category are discussed in the following sections, and the annex provides
more detail.

• Advanced Equipment and Components

• Advanced equipment and components include technologies for improving
and controlling power flows, enabling greater efficiency in long-distance
transmission, storage of electrical energy (to be dispatched into the grid as
needed), and grid operation. Advanced electronic equipment is also being
used for smart metering and control in the distribution networks. The status
of these technologies, likely future technology improvements, and potential
for deployment into the T&D system are addressed in the five subsections
below.
• A T&D system requires power-flow control and protection against overloads and instability. The
electromechanical devices currently used for these purposes are slow and cannot react quickly
enough to handle rapid transients, but modern solid-state power electronics can overcome this
problem. Power electronics are not new, but their deployment has been limited to particular
applications in which their higher cost is offset by their benefits to investors. Power electronics can
be used in the transmission system (for both AC and HVDC applications),17 and in the distribution
system.

• Power electronics on the AC transmission system are referred to as flexible alternating current
transmission system (FACTS) devices.18 FACTS devices can control both real and reactive power
flows along transmission corridors, thereby maintaining the stability of transmission voltage. FACTS
devices can also increase the power transfer capability of transmission lines and improve overall
system reliability by reacting virtually instantaneously to disturbances. FACTS can enable
wholesale markets, increase security, enable self-healing capacity, and optimize the use of system
assets by controlling the flow of power, and they can help to
• 17

• The transmission system in the United States is almost entirely AC. Transmitting electricity via
HVDC involves converting AC to DC, transmitting the electricity in DC, and converting it back to AC
at the receiving end.
• 18
• Annex 9.A describes specific flexible alternating current transmission system (FACTS) devices and
their applications in more detail.
• integrate variable renewables by managing reactive power. FACTS
devices are currently available and are already deployed in limited
applications.

• Power electronics also can be used for lower-voltage applications on

distribution systems, where the equivalent to FACTS is known as custom
power. Custom power devices can provide for significant improvement in
power quality on the customer side by controlling voltage and frequency
distortions. High power quality is needed for many modern applications,
especially in industries with automated production, which could benefit
from more economical local solutions to improved power quality. Power
electronics also plays an important role in smart metering with two-way
power flow (to encourage local power generation) and in real-time
pricing (to shift loads away from expensive peak demand periods).

• Custom power technologies that offer such solutions exist now, but their
application is restricted to situations where their high cost is offset by
significant benefits. R&D could help reduce costs and expand their use
by 2020.
• AC and DC Lines and Cables
• A cost-effective way to obtain extra transmission capacity is to upgrade transmission lines and corresponding
substations along existing corridors. Transmission capacity can be increased by “reconductoring” existing lines
(using materials such as composite conductors that can carry higher current). These materials are presently
available but not widely deployed; taking lines out of service for reconductoring is difficult, and new materials are
expensive. In addition, all overhead lines can carry current higher than their nominal rating when weather conditions
are favorable, and real-time rating that could be continuously adjusted would increase available capacity.19

• HVDC becomes cost-effective at long distances, where the reduced capital costs of the lines and reduced energy
losses can compensate for the cost of the converters.20 For example, long-distance, high-power HVDC transmission
could

• 19
• The nominal current rating of overhead lines is based on assumed worst seasonal conditions. Conductors have
some resistance (except for superconductors) and heat is produced as current flows through them. If the line gets
too hot, it expands and sags excessively. High air temperature with no wind is usually the design condition. Under
less severe conditions, more current can be carried, but existing transmission controls cannot account for this.

• 20
• HVDC lines may be warranted for overhead lines longer than 800–1000 kilometers and underground or underwater
lines longer than 60–80 kilometers. A 65-mile long undersea and underground HVDC cable began commercial
operation in 2007, carrying 660 MW of power from New Jersey to Long Island.
• aid in the deployment of large-scale wind generation and, potentially,
solar generation by 2020;21 these energy sources are regional,
intermittent, and often far away from major population centers. As the
down periods for wind vary from region to region, long-distance
transmission would help to pool such resources for transmitting the
power to load centers. HVDC also is less expensive than AC if lines need
to be underground—for example, when passing through pristine areas.
Several HVDC lines already exist in the country, and, if planning is
started within the next few years, several more large lines22 could be
completed before 2020.

• Further R&D on advanced materials and nanotechnology could lead to

improved lightweight insulators, high-temperature low-sag conductors,
and light-weight high-strength structures after 2020. In the longer term,
breakthroughs in superconducting materials are needed for
superconducting cable technology to become widespread. This is
unlikely to occur until after 2030.
• Cost-effective storage would be useful both on transmission and on distribution systems. Transmission
systems require large-scale storage capacity with high power ratings (on the order of hundreds of megawatts)
and long discharge times (hours to days). The variable power output of renewable resources is currently
managed by standby generation, but as large-scale and remote wind or solar generation facilities are built, such
storage technologies would be very beneficial for the transmission system that must deliver the power. Today,
this type of storage is largely limited to pumped hydro storage, where water is pumped uphill into a reservoir
and released to power turbines when needed. Another technology that has been demonstrated and is currently
available for commercial deployment is compressed air energy storage (CAES).23 A CAES plant stores energy
by using electricity (from off-peak hours) to compress air into an underground geologic formation (or
potentially in aboveground tanks). The energy is recovered when a combustion turbine burns natural gas in this
compressed air in lieu of operating

• 21
• These electricity sources are discussed in detail in Chapter 6.
• 22
• For example, lines might connect wind resources in Wyoming to California, or deliver wind power in the Dakotas
to Chicago. Such lines might account for a large fraction of the cost of that electricity.

• 23
• CAES has been demonstrated at a pilot plant in Alabama as well as at locations in Germany.
• its own compressor.24 CAES is now a viable option for providing 100–300 MWe or more of electric power for up to
10 hours. Before 2020, CAES will be the only viable option, aside from pumped hydro, for storing hundreds to
thousands of megawatts of energy. Both are dependent on specific features being available (caverns or hills where
reservoirs can be built), which greatly limit their applicability.

• For distribution systems, storage at lower power ratings (10 MW and below) and lower discharge times (hours to
minutes, depending on the application) can be used to improve power quality and security. Distributed storage can
help to regulate the system and improve system stability, including reducing the risk of system collapse by
supporting islanding and restoration following a disruption. Some battery-storage technologies for these
applications, such as lead-acid and sodium-sulfur batteries, have been demonstrated and are currently available for
deployment (Bjelovuk, 2008). Batteries are modular and not site specific, meaning they can be located close to
intermittent generation sites, near the load, or at T&D substations. However, current battery technologies are
expensive and have high losses and reliability issues.

• In the longer term, battery storage technology at larger capacities (in the 100 MW range) may help to accommodate
variable renewable energy sources, but further R&D is needed before more widespread deployment is likely. Given
the large potential in the electric vehicle market for lithium-ion, nickel metal hydride, and other types of batteries,
much R&D is now in progress. Advanced batteries with lower cost, high energy density, and higher charge-discharge
cycles could also be used for storage in the T&D systems. They may be available for deployment in T&D systems
after 2020.

• Other longer-term possibilities for energy storage in the grid include supercapacitors, superconducting energy
storage, and flywheels. None of these technologies is currently suitable for grid use because of high costs and low
energy-storage density. Flywheel storage units are being installed for first-of-a-kind experience with power capacity
in the MW range that can smooth out short variations of wind power. However, the technology is a long way from
economic deployment on a large scale that would affect daily peaks and day-to-day variations. If advances are
made, particularly in materials, all these technologies may become
• Conventional gas turbines use about two-thirds of their output to operate their compressors; thus only a third of the
turbine’s output power is available to produce electricity. By moving the compression to off-peak hours when power
costs are low, output of the turbine can be approximately tripled and sold at the much higher peak rate.

• Page 583
• Suggested Citation:"9 Electricity Transmission and Distribution." National Academy of Sciences, National Academy
of Engineering, and National Research Council. 2009. America's Energy Future: Technology and Transformation.
Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12091.×
• Add a note to your bookmark
• suitable for energy storage in distribution systems after 2020. Pumped hydroelectric power underground storage,
which requires a deep underground water reservoir or aquifer and construction of a power plant deep underground
as well, is not considered an effective solution in general because of high costs, but it may be suitable for some
sites.

• Distribution Transformers
• From generation to the customer’s meter, power typically flows through four transformer stages,25 accumulating
about 4 percent losses in total. The last transformer in the chain is the distribution transformer for residential/small
commercial customers, and because there are so many in the distribution system, they account for a large portion of
these losses. Improved materials used to form the transformer’s core can reduce the losses. In the past, grain-
oriented steel was universally used as the core material, and there has been sustained but slow progress in reducing
its losses. A new material, amorphous steel, has become commercially available in significant quantities over the
last 10 years. Transformers made with amorphous steel have about one-third the core loss of those made with
grain-oriented steel. The market for amorphous steel transformers has been small, however, primarily because of
their higher cost. This material may become more competitive economically as a result of new DOE standards
regarding distribution-transformer efficiency for new equipment.26
• Potential for Future Deployment
• Many of the technologies needed to implement a modern T&D system, such as FACTS and
custom power devices, are presently available for commercial deployment. While R&D is
needed to reduce costs and improve performance, no breakthroughs are necessary to start
using them in large quantities. In addition, some higher-voltage long-distance lines and
substations could be deployed before 2020,

• 25
• Electrical transformers are used to increase or decrease AC voltage. For example, a
transformer near the generating plant increases the electrical voltage (“steps it up”) at the
transmission line, and a transformer at the distribution substation decreases the voltage
(“steps it down”) from transmission voltages to voltages appropriate for distribution. Others
are used within the distribution system to deliver the power at levels appropriate to end users.

• 26
• These standards are discussed in more detail in the subsection “Economic Benefits” within
the section “Potential Benefits of a Modern T&D System.”
• and dynamic thermal rating of power lines could increase capacity along existing lines.
• Some storage technologies will be ready for deployment before 2020; however,
significant room for improvement remains. At larger scales that may be needed to
support large quantities of intermittent renewable energy sources, pumped
hydroelectric power and CAES will be the only viable options before 2020. Batteries
may also be used for large-scale storage in the T&D systems but are unlikely to be
available for deployment at the hundreds-of-MW scales until after 2020. On a smaller
scale (around 10 MW), batteries are already being deployed to enable islanding and
load-leveling in the distribution system. Newer technologies (including ultracapacitors
and flywheels) may not be ready for wide-scale use before 2035.

• Measurements, Communications, and Controls

• A modern electric T&D system will need measurement, communications, and control
technologies to gather real-time data on the state of the grid, communicate those data,
and process them to enhance system controlability. These technologies, including
associated software, are the basis for “intelligence in the grid.” The following
subsections discuss the status of several of these technologies, likely technology
improvements, and the potential for their deployment in the U.S. T&D system.
• Sensing and Measurements
• Understanding and acting on the current state of the U.S. T&D system requires measuring the power characteristics at
numerous points. The basic measurements needed are current (amperes) and voltage (volts) at every electrical connection
and the status of all switches (on or off). These data provide information on the grid’s electrical condition and connectivity.27

• Measurements are made at each T&D substation and are used to drive its controls and protective devices (relays).28
Supervisory control and data acquisi-

• 27
• Connectivity of the electrical network can be changed by selectively opening or closing its many circuit breakers.
• 28
• Protective devices can detect short circuits and isolate the faulty equipment by opening circuit breakers.
• Suggested Citation:"9 Electricity Transmission and Distribution." National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of
Engineering, and National Research Council. 2009. America's Energy Future: Technology and Transformation. Washington, DC:
The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12091.×
• Add a note to your bookmark
• tion (SCADA) systems collect and transmit this information to control centers.29 In most existing substations, the data can
be sampled every few seconds, entered into a remote terminal unit (RTU), polled by the SCADA, and sent to the control center
over relatively slow communications channels—usually microwave. In modern substations, some of which are already in
place, the substation control and protection system is digital and the connectivity is through a local area network (LAN)
within the substation. Data can be sampled many times per second, rather than once every few seconds. Most of the
substation’s controllers and protection systems, known collectively as intelligent electronic devices (IEDs), are based on
microprocessors, as are recording systems such as fault recorders and sequence-of-events recorders.
• Monitoring of the state of the transmission system is best if the high-voltage
substations are equipped with measurement systems that sample at rates of
60–120 times per second30 and incorporate global positioning system (GPS)
signals.31 Although the individual hardware costs of these measurement units are
now very modest,32 the cost of retrofitting them into the thousands of existing
substations will be significant.

• There are approximately four times more low-voltage distribution substations than
there are high-voltage substations. Although the sampling speed does not need to
be as large, high-bandwidth communication will be needed in order to use these
data for system control.

• Existing customer billing meters could be replaced with microprocessor-based

meters which could provide the customer with new buying options such as time-of-
day pricing, and could increase end user efficiency. These meters could also allow
control signals from the power company to be brought directly into appliances and
equipment on the customer side for load management.
• For further explanation of SCADA systems, see Annex 9.A.
• 30
• Automatic control action to stabilize the power system after a disturbance has to be taken in
well under a second, thus requiring measurement sampling of around 60 times a second. The
available phasor measurement units (PMUs) routinely provide measurement sampling at 30 or
60 Hz, and faster sampling rates are already appearing in the market.

• 31
• Global positioning system (GPS) signals and the associated absolute-time references allow
accurate phase shifts in AC quantities to be measured between widely separated substations.

• 32
• PMUs were priced at around $50,000 when first introduced in the 1980s, but they cost less than
$10,000 today; moreover, other substation equipment such as protective relays today can
perform this function at almost no incremental cost
• Integrated Communications
• Real-time measurements can be used to monitor and control the T&D system,
but the measurement data must be transmitted to a location where they can be
processed. To appropriately process the data, a fully integrated communications
system with universal standards (protocols) must be developed, along with real-
time data handling software that can collect and move the data to where they
are needed.

• If the measurement technologies described above are fully implemented, each

control center will need to process approximately one million data points per
second.33 The existing communication channels between the control centers
and the substations, many dating from the 1960s, cannot handle these data
rates. They are currently being replaced with high-bandwidth optical fiber.
However, even with increased bandwidth, the present system (in which all data
from substation RTUs are collected at the control center SCADA) cannot handle
the expected proliferation of real-time measurement data.
• An alternative to this communications architecture is shown in Figure 9.9. Each
substation has its own data-gathering system connected internally by a LAN. A
gateway server connects these data to the rest of the system through a high-speed
network of switching routers, which can move the needed data efficiently to
monitoring and control applications. These applications require coordination across
several substations, either regionally or over the entire interconnection. Such
applications are often referred to as wide-area controls or special protection schemes.
Today’s local controls are contained within a substation and will remain part of the
substation automation design.

• Communication systems must be able to handle a wide range of speed and data flow
requirements, and the switching network and distributed database will have to be
designed. Although similar systems exist today (e.g., cellular telephone systems), the
communications needs for the power grid are unique; specialized software will have to
be designed and developed. Such a communications system should be ready for
deployment by 2020, possibly continuing into the 2020–2030 time period.

• 33
• For a sense of scale, each of the approximately 100 control centers in the Eastern
Interconnection oversees about 100 high-voltage substations on average.
• FIGURE 9.9 An alternative measurement architecture for the transmission
system. Each substation (shown on the right) takes measurements that are
collected by its own data-gathering system. These measurements are
communicated internally by a local area network (LAN). A substation server
communicates these data to the rest of the system through a high-speed
network of switching routers (shown as circles) that can move the data
efficiently as needed to specific monitoring and control applications.

• Advanced Control Methods

• Measurement and communication technologies create a picture of the state
of the systems, which control technology can use for greater reliability and
security (including self-healing following a disruption) and more efficient
operation and optimization of assets. If the T&D system is equipped with new
measurement sensors, a high-speed communication network, and power
electronics, fast wide-area controllers can be designed and installed with
software only. This will enable the evolution of better controls to make the grid
increasingly reliable and efficient.
• The thousands of mostly local controllers in existing T&D systems are slow; response
times typically are measured in seconds. In contrast, FACTS devices (already in use as
fast local controllers) can control voltages and power flows with response times
measured in milliseconds. Moreover, fast wide-area controls, combining rapid
communications with remotely controlled FACTS devices, are becoming feasible.
Time-stamped measurements will make multiple inputs available to the controller,
which can then send out multiple output signals to several FACTS controllers
simultaneously.

• With these technologies, many types of grid monitoring and control will become
possible.34 Digitized measurements that incorporate data at high sampling rates will
allow faster and more frequent calculation of the state of the transmission system.
This can provide better predictions of the T&D system’s behavior under contingencies
(natural, human error, or malicious), thus enabling automatic corrective and preventive
actions. Cascading failures can be predicted, and defensive actions such as islanding
can prevent the spread of the disturbance. Advanced distribution controls can
accommodate two-way power flow from distributed generation by balancing the load
on all the distribution feeders. In addition, demandside responses can be efficiently
coordinated if appropriate sensors and communications are in place. Such control
technologies could begin to be deployed by 2020.
• Potential for Future Deployment
• Measurement, communications, and control technologies are already being deployed to a modest degree and could be fully deployed by 2030. About
15,000 transmission substations will require new sensors, measurement systems, and LANs. To add high-bandwidth communications hardware
(mainly fiber-optic cables) across the transmission system of approximately 200,000 miles of network and 20,000 switches, investment in both
hardware and software will be needed. The costs of developing the needed software to operate the hardware for control will be significant.

• Technologies for distribution systems are different in character from transmission. Sensing, monitoring, and communications technologies will
need to be

• 34
• Although some one-of-a-kind controllers and special protective schemes have been built to handle unique problems in parts of the T&D system,
these are expensive installations because everything—from the sensors to the communication channels to the controllers—is special.
• Suggested Citation:"9 Electricity Transmission and Distribution." National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and National
Research Council. 2009. America's Energy Future: Technology and Transformation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi:
10.17226/12091.×
• Add a note to your bookmark
• installed in the approximately 60,000 distribution substations and their associated feeders. These controls will be particularly important as smart
metering is introduced into distribution networks. Additional investment will also be needed for coordination between transmission level-controls
and distribution-level controls.

• Improved Decision-Support Tools

• The T&D system in the United States is managed by a large number of private and public entities that have long used computer-based decision-
support tools both for commercial and for engineering decisions. These tools need to be further improved because of the massive amounts of data
that are available in real time and the need to use these data in system control. This section examines improved decision-support technology (IDST),
including those tools necessary for split-second decision making by system operators during emergencies as well as for long-term decision making
on investments needed in the grid itself.
• System Operations
• A recurring theme in blackout investigations has been the need for better visualization
capabilities and decision-support tools over a wide geographic area. In many
circumstances, a human operator will require at least some seconds to make a decision,
but automatic controls operate on the order of milliseconds. IDST enables grid
operators and managers to make faster decisions by converting the complex power-
system data into information that can be understood at a glance. Improved visualization
interfaces and decision-support technologies will increase reliability, decrease outages
due to natural causes and human error, and enhance asset management.

• IDST covers three general systems-operations categories:

• Grid visualization. Real-time analysis of system stability will require online analytical
tools that process the vast amount of data and automatically determine what actions
should be taken to prevent an incipient disturbance from spreading. This objective
requires completing the analysis within a fraction of a second and presenting it visually
in a control room for fast responses to deteriorating conditions. The algorithms have
not yet been developed to perform these functions, but they could be deployed by 2020
and would be continually improved in the 2020–2035 timeframe and beyond.
• Decision support. Decision-support technologies can identify existing,
emerging, and predicted problems and provide analysis to support solutions.
By analyzing the consequences of each contingency and its probability of
occurrence, decision-support systems can quantify relative risk and severity.
These relative risks can be integrated into a composite risk factor and
presented to the operator to assist in decision making. Further work on
decision-support algorithms will be needed to make them available for
deployment before 2020, with continuing improvements in the 2020–2035
timeframe and beyond.

• Systems operator training. Advanced simulators currently under development

will give operators a real-time, faster-than-real-time, or historic view of the
power system and its parameters. These dynamic simulators, together with
industry-wide certification programs, will significantly improve the skill sets
and performance of system operators. Such simulators could be ready for
deployment by 2020, as soon as the visualization and decision-support
algorithms are in place. IDST, together with system-operator training, will then
need to be continuously evaluated and improved.
• As the systems become more complex, R&D on software and artificial intelligence
will be needed to improve the operator’s ability to control a wide-area transmission
system as well as an ever more complicated distribution system. Improved software
and artificial intelligence for IDST could begin to be deployed by 2020, and
deployment is likely to continue into the 2020–2035 timeframe.

• Operations Planning and Design

• Decision tools are also needed for decisions that occur over longer timescales than
do real-time operating decisions. Applications include next-day planning decisions for
the power market, planning for adequate generation, and design of T&D substations
as well as distribution feeders.

• Operations-planning decisions set the schedules of how the T&D system will be
operated over the next day. Decisions include forecasting the load, scheduling
dispatchable generation and long-term contracts to meet the load, conducting
auction markets, using power contracts to check on possible congestion on the
transmission system, and modifying the power contracts if congestion is indicated.
The decision tools needed for these tasks are mostly new or have been significantly
modified in recent years.
• Longer-term planning for new generation and transmission capacity must deal
with considerable uncertainty, especially where the industry has been
restructured and no one organization holds the ultimate responsibility for
building adequate generation. Transmission is still regulated, but
transmission planning is dependent on knowing where the new generating
plants are going to be located. Computerized planning decision tools must be
improved to handle increased uncertainty for the 20- to 30-year time horizon. It
is anticipated that renewables will present unique challenges, and the addition
of probabilistic methods not in use today may help system operators respond
to the changing generation mix.

• T&D substations are designed by computerized tools that need to be further

coordinated with asset-management tools—inventory management for spare
parts and maintenance of all components for example—used by utilities. The
two tool sets should be seamlessly coordinated with one another and
connected to the operations and operations-planning databases so that
customer trouble calls can be coordinated with maintenance crews, spare part
inventories, and system operations.
• Potential for Future Deployment
• Several major conditions must be met before IDST can be effectively
implemented. First, modern measurement, communications, and control
technologies must be implemented along with the power electronics
technologies needed to enable automated controls. In addition, development is
needed in applications that integrate advanced visualization technologies with
geospatial tools to improve the speed of comprehension and decision making.
Some of these technologies could begin to be implemented well before 2020.

• Integrating Technologies to Create a Modern Electric T&D System

• The key technologies discussed above are in various stages of development,
with many already having been deployed in a limited way. However, the primary
challenge will be the integrated deployment of these technologies to achieve the
desired characteristics and performance of a modern grid. For example, the
capabilities of power electronics would be maximized by coupling them with real-
time measurement, communications, control, and decision-support tools. Smart
meters with two-way communications tied to wireless controllers within the
customer’s premises will be needed on distribution systems to maximize the
benefits of a modernized transmission system.
• It is important to note that even though most modernization technologies
are available now, further R&D is very important. All these technologies can
be improved upon and would benefit from cost reduction. A few, such as
large-scale storage, are simply impractical now. In addition, the nation is
facing a critical shortage of power engineers, the very people who will be
needed to implement modernization. University R&D funding is vital in
persuading students to embark on careers in power engineering.
THANK YOU!!!!